Medical Engagement more than just a Health Care Mission

MUSA KHEL, AFGHANISTAN

06.06.2007

Courtesy Story

Provincial Reconstruction Team Khost

by Spc. Matthew Leary
4th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office

MUSA KHEL, Afghanistan - Convoying from nearby Forward Operating Base Salerno, the route to Musa Khel lacks any built up road, snaking up steep mountain trails offering 50 foot drop offs for the slightest misjudgement and jutting down into riverbed valleys which are plagued with holes, boulders and mud, slowing the pace of the convoy down to a crawl. Although only 20 miles apart, the trip from FOB Salerno to Musa Khel District Health Center takes over two hours.

Upon arriving in Musa Khel, the health center appears to be barren. An Afghan national policeman is walking along the compound walls and a few local doctors step out of the health center itself, but no patients can be seen in the area, although a few are supposed to arrive shortly.

For the Sailors, Soldiers and civilians from the Khost Provisional Reconstruction Team who have just driven several hours to get here, it appears today may not be very busy.

However, the main purpose of the medical engagement, conducted June 3 in the Khost Province, isn't really to see and treat patients, but to further the PRT's overall mission of assisting the Government of Afghanistan establish the necessary infrastructure to handle their own medical, agricultural and economic needs, said Navy Cmdr. Dave Adams, Khost PRT commander.

Lead by Navy Cmdr. Adrienne J. Simmons, the Khost PRT medical officer in charge, a team of medical specialists is on site to do just that.

"The main reason we went out was to assess the clinic and give support to the local health care providers," she said.

But there is a palpable sense of disappointment amongst Simmons and some of the troops, for they had hopes of being able to bring some medical relief and joy to local villagers as well. Besides medicines and vaccinations, they have also brought along hygiene supplies and gifts bags to be distributed to the local children.

One of the doctors remarks that there may have been a miscommunication and the town may be unaware that additional medical services are being offered. As someone takes off to inform the local villagers, a brief tour of the facility is conducted.

"The facility, equipment and supplies were basic," Simmons said. "There was a lot of room for improvement."

The most notable problems were the absence of any power source and lack of medicines. While basic health care can be provided without the electricity, many vaccinations and medicines need to be refrigerated, Simmons said.

This is extremely detrimental for the children of Musa Khel, for whom vaccinations and immunizations are critically important, said Petty Officer 2nd Class Glenn A. Ftacek Jr., a combat corpsman with the PRT.

"In Afghanistan the health care is limited and a lot of kids don't get seen," he said. "And with the living conditions it's a haven for parasites."

Having planned for this possibilty there is a large stock of de-worming medicine packed away for this trip. Worms is a common disease in this part of the country, Ftacek said.

As the facility tour winds down the doctors are informed that a few Afghan citizens have shown up and the medical team will be able to see a few patients after all. Outside the clinic, the crowd begins to grow as a steady trickle of locals continue to arrive.

"We were told we would only be able to see a couple [of patients], but once they spread the word we were here more came," Ftacek said.

In a matter of less than an hour, approximately fifty children and adults have gathered outside.

Ftacek sets up to a station to administer a de-worming vaccination to children, while Simmons and Army Staff Sgt. Lorretta L. Myers, a medic with the 396th Combat Support Hospital, prepared an examination room to attend to the adults and provide more comprehensive medical aid. The first patient walks down the hall for treatment, he is only the start of what will turn out to be several hours of examinations.

He is a 42 year old man who had experienced an itching sensation in his eye for more than two years. Even the most basic of treatments is exacerbated by the fact a translator is needed to facilitate even the most basic medical questions.
Simmons and Myers would spend the next few hours talking to patients with a variety of ailments ranging from asthma to serious burns on legs and arms.

In total, 140 children were administered de-worming doses and 30 adults were seen
for primary care, Simmons said.

"I think it went very well," agreed Lt. Cmdr. Robert B. Traeder, an engineer with the PRT who assisted in giving out hygiene supplies. "It was fun because we had so many little kids coming through."

For Traeder, as for many of the servicemembers there, the medical engagement was a chance to interact with the local populous, a sort of feel-good mission. Like others, Traeder packed his own stash of gifts, handing out pint-sized stuffed animals to several of the children. Interacting with the kids provided a gentle reminder of their own children back home, plus offered the feeling of making a difference in the lives of the youths.

"It's hard to know how much good you're doing with a tube of toothpaste and toothbrush, but at least your spreading goodwill," Traeder said.

And spreading goodwill seems to be the true mission of the Khost PRT, although it is certainly not the official, military doctrine of what the PRT does.

"Our operation compliments the security operation," Adams explained.

While the hunt for Taliban forces may provide a life free of terror and intimidation for the citizens of Afghanistan, it alone will not give them the luxury of health benefits.

"The average lifespan in Afghanistan is 42 years old, it's very important we get the health sector up," Adams said. "When the average child only makes it to 40, that's my age, that's no good."

And so that's what the PRT will continue to do, improve the agriculture, economy, and health sectors of Afghanistan by working with the local governments and mentoring, Adams said.

And so the medical engagement provided not only an immediate benefit of direct medical care, but future benefits the PRT will arrange now that they have seen first-hand what the Musa Khel clinic can provide.

So although the route to Musa Khel is slow and treacherous, the Khost PRT will continue to convoy there and to other districts in hopes of assisting the local governments improve their infrastructure. That's their overall goal, Simmons said.

"So that when we leave, the Afghan health care system will have a firm foundation," she said.

• Date Taken: 06.06.2007
• Date Posted: 06.11.2007 00:23
• Story ID: 10733
• Location: MUSA KHEL, AF